"Cricket and the media have co-existed for years and that helped to make the game popular world-wide. Now, one arm of that partnership wants to do away with the other arm.

"The affect is already being felt because of the low interest in the first Australia-Sri Lanka Test in Brisbane. I can't imagine we will not have pictures or text from the second Test either.

"If (Sri Lankan spinner) Muttiah Muralitharan equals Shane Warne's world record in Hobart, the world would want to see pictures of that historic wicket and read what he has to say.

"Surely, we are not going to make do with his passport-size picture," said Mohan, who has covered cricket world-wide for more than 25 years.

Muralitharan needs six wickets to equal Warne's world record tally of 708.

The influential Times of India newspaper slammed the Indian cricket board's backing of CA's stance, saying the obsession with money threatened the spirit of sport.

"Money-minded cricket administrators are putting a price on everything, including pictures of cricket matches, thereby threatening to take fun out of sports," the daily wrote.

"What's more alarming is that this move by CA has given ideas to the Indian board) too.

"If agencies succumb and start paying money to cricket boards, they in turn will ask more for the pictures. Look at it any way, there will be fewer pictures from the matches for the game's innumerable fans."

The Times of India added the trend could change how sports was covered.

"This demand could set a dangerous trend, spill over into other areas, and change sports coverage, or for that matter the coverage of other events."